Satchmo SummerFest Presents Seminars at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint

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Angelique Hill
Office: 504-522-5730
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French Quarter Festivals, Inc

Satchmo SummerFest Presents Seminars at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint

Fascinating seminars discuss the life, legacy, and music of Louis Armstrong

NEW ORLEANS, LA (July 20, 2012) - The premiere American Jazz Festival dedicated to the life, legacy, and music of New Orleans' native son, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, will take place August 3 - 5 at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint. An impressive array of speaker will present seminars, discussions, music, and movies about the history and progress of New Orleans Jazz and the life and music of Louis Armstrong. Enlightening presentations, discussions, and performances will be given by Richard Havers co-producer of Satchmo - a comprehensive box set of Louis Armstrong recordings, Ricky Riccardi author of What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years, Jason Harrelson of Harrelson Trumpets, and many more.

Satchmo SummerFest Keynote Speaker, Michael Cogswell, will commence the seminar presentations with a Keynote Address during the Satchmo SummerFest Opening Reception. Cogswell's keynote address will explore the perception of Louis Armstrong through the 20th century, the 21st century, and beyond. The address will also include rare and unique images and recordings from the Museum's collections and offer insight on how Armstrong became the icon he is today.

Cogswell is the Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York City and author of Louis Armstrong: The Offset Story of Satchmo (Collectors Press, 2003). In 1991, Queens College hired Cogswell to arrange and catalog the vast collections of Louis Armstrong's home-recorded tapes, scrapbooks, photographs, manuscripts, trumpets, and other personal items. The Louis Armstrong Archives has grown to include six collections and houses the world's largest archive for a single jazz musician.  

In 1995, Cogswell administered the nine-year, two million dollar project to open the Louis Armstrong House Museum, a national historic landmark and a New York City landmark, as a historic house museum. The Louis Armstrong House opened to the public in 2003 and is a popular destination for tourists, school groups, musicians, and jazz lovers. It is the only national landmark for a jazz musician that is completely authentic and open to the public six days per week, 52 weeks per year.

Michael has made several presentations about Louis Armstrong in cities across the United States and Europe. He has also appeared on NPR's Fresh Air, ABC-TV's Nightline, and CBS Sunday Morning.

The Opening Reception and Keynote Address at the Hotel Monteleone will take place August 2 at 5:30 p.m. Reception tickets are $65 per person and are available for sale. Please call the French Quarter Festivals, Inc. office at (504) 522-5730 to purchase tickets.  

Seminars at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint are scheduled from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, August 3; 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, August 4; and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, August 5. Seminars are free and open to the public. For a complete list of the seminar schedule and speakers click the link below or visit the website www.satchmosummerfest.com.

About French Quarter Festivals, Inc.

Satchmo SummerFest is produced by French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (www.fqfi.org), the 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, which also produces French Quarter Festival in April and Christmas New Orleans Style! in December. French Quarter Festivals, Inc. promotes the Vieux Carré and the City of New Orleans through high quality special events and activities that showcase the culture and heritage of this unique city, contribute to the economic well being of the community, and instill increased pride in the people of New Orleans.